last_kallig | IM/OOM :Kyber

When Ibani comes into Milliways this time, she's carrying a case about as long and as wide as her forearm. There's a strange aura around it, a dampening, a muffling of the Force. One lock is open, the other....Ibani wants Baze and Chirrut to be there for that.

If it's what she thinks it is, if there really ARE kyber crystals in the case, then the two Guardians ought to be there.

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From:

iprotectyou

Fortunately for Ibani, she doesn't have to wait long. Baze and Chirrut, arm-in-arm, approach from the stairs, laughing at some private joke between them.

"Ibani!" Baze says, breaking off from Chirrut to cross to her and wrap her up in an embrace.

"Hello, hello! How are you?"

Edited Date: 2017-11-12 02:14 am (UTC)

From:

idontneedluck

"Smothered, I should think. Let the poor girl breathe." Chirrut snickers, poking at Baze's shoulder.

From:

last_kallig

Ibani laughs at Chirrut's comment, trying to shift the container so it doesn't dig into Baze too much. She hugs him back fiercely. "I'm well, and I think, I think I have something to show both of you."

"My ghostly ancestor tracked down components that he was planning to use to make a lightsaber before his death," she taps the box she's holding. "Among them were strange crystals he hadn't seen before, clear crystals that sang loudly in the Force, crystals that fought him when he tried to use them."

"I think they might be kyber crystals."

From:

iprotectyou

Baze releases her, stepping back. He peers at the container with unabashed curiosity--and a broad smile.

"So, you brought these crystals to us?"

From:

idontneedluck

"Think? You have met ours, are they some variant?" Chirrut asks in turn, curious.

From:

last_kallig

Ibani chuckles. "I don't know, I haven't opened the case yet," she admits. "And there's a spell on it that keeps the contents from being easily sensed in the Force."

She flushes, a little embarrassed and nervous despite herself. "I just thought, if they ARE Kyber then there should be Guardians there when I first tried to handle them. I don't know what the process is, was, when a Force User was looking for kyber to build a lightsaber."

From:

iprotectyou

"Thank you, Ibani. That was courteous of you think of us," Baze says, offering her shoulder a squeeze.

"There's no real process, just look for one that feels right. That chooses you."

From:

idontneedluck

"There's no forcing it - as many have found over the years, to their own dismay." Chirrut offers with some amusement.

From:

last_kallig

"Oh, good," Ibani says at Baze's explanation, relieved.

"I'd never try to force them, although my ghostly ancestor did," Ibani continues, scowling. "He had three crystals to start with, one shattered when he tried to bend it to his will."

From:

iprotectyou

Baze frowns slightly, his brow creased.

"That's too bad," he says, sighing.

"People rarely understand how to treat kyber. The crystal chooses you, not the other way around."

He tips his head towards the stairs.

"Would you like to open the case in our rooms, since that provides more privacy and they look like the temple?"

From:

idontneedluck

"And fewer chances of having to explain their existence to those we'd rather not." Chirrut adds wryly.

From:

last_kallig

"Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea, for all those reasons," Ibani replies.

She'll follow Baze and Chirrut up to their room, her anticipation palpable in the Force.

"Is there somewhere in particular I should set this?"

From:

iprotectyou

Baze pulls a nightstand away from the bed and places the stand in the middle of the room.

"Here is fine," Baze says. His knees crackle as he kneels down, settling in the lotus position.

From:

idontneedluck

Chirrut settles at Baze's side, leaning against him slightly. He's nervous, and trying not to be. It's not as if the if the crystals know the fate of their future kin. They may not even be from the Jedhan mines.

He knows he's being ridiculous, and thus strives not to be.

From:

last_kallig

Ibani smiles reassuringly at Chirrut, even though she knows he can't see it. Maybe the Force will communicate the feeling well enough.

She takes a deep breath and puts her thumb on the lock, not flinching as it takes a tiny sample of her blood. She pushes the lid open, and the two kyber crystals within react immediately, their song loud and soaring.

The two crystals are twice the size of her thumb, the angles of their shapes almost too perfect to be natural, and they're glowing with a white light.

Ibani lets out a breath and stares at them, surprised. To those that can hear it, there's a curiously INSISTENT quality to their song, almost demanding.

Edited Date: 2017-11-13 02:43 am (UTC)

From:

iprotectyou

Baze lets loose his breath, unaware until now that he'd been holding it. Tears prick his eyes, but he doesn't release the hand he'd wrapped around Chirrut's shoulders to scrub at his treacherous eyes.

"Ibani," Baze breathes, his voice soft and tremulous.

"They're beautiful."

From:

idontneedluck

Chirrut hums faintly in harmony with their song, some of the tension bleeding out of his frame.

"They definitely weren't corrupted."

From:

last_kallig

"They are beautiful," Ibani agrees, voice soft. She hears Chirrut's statement that they weren't corrupted, but she's only distantly aware of it as she reaches for the crystals.

She scoops up both into her right hand in one motion, almost afraid that the light in them will go out at her touch in spite of her prior experiences with kyber crystals. When she scoops them up, their glow flares so bright that she reflexively shuts her eyes against the light.

Then she loses her sense of everything for a moment, even up and down, as her entire being RINGS as if she's a tuning fork struck against some great cosmic surface. The Kyber's song is an exultant shout of joy as her knees unhinge and she starts to fall to the floor, her right hand clenched tightly around the crystals in it, hiding them from sight.

Edited Date: 2017-11-13 03:56 am (UTC)

From:

iprotectyou

Baze acts immediately. He rises to his feet and reaches out to catch Ibani in one smooth motion. He tucks her into the niche between his armors, holding her securely around the shoulders and waist.

"Are you all right?"

From:

idontneedluck

Chirrut hasn't yet learned to slow down his mantra again. His voice is a rapid patter as he prays in the face of the Force's reaction, seeking calm.

From:

last_kallig

Ibani is surprised to find herself held against Baze. "I, I think I'm alright," she says, shaking her head as if to clear it. "The song was just...it felt like my whole being was ringing. Thank you for catching me."

The kyber's song settles, quiets down, soothes. Ibani opens her hand to see that the kyber crystals have turned a brilliant amethyst color. "Are they supposed to change color?," she asks, concerned. "They don't feel upset, but..."

From:

iprotectyou

"I'm not sure," Baze says, cocking his head to the side and peering at the now-purple crystals.

"I think that means they've chosen you."

From:

idontneedluck

"The Jedi never shared what happened to the kyber after it left our care." Chirrut shrugs, slightly overlarge, more settled now that the echos he gets through the Force aren't so riotous.

From:

last_kallig

Ibani nods, relaxing a little at their answers. "You would think they would have told you about what happened to your charges," Ibani grumbles.

"Purple is a good color, one common enough among Sith that it won't attract any awkward questions," she adds, unconsciously running her fingers along the kyber's facets.

"Thank you, both of you, for being here."